A Little Bit of Light (Pinterest Inspired)

Normally I would be writing about the Pinterest Poser Challenge, but today is a little different. 

(In an attempt at not being a Pinterest Poser,* every week I detail a new Pinterest challenge whether it be a new recipe or a craft.   
**My definition of a Pinterest Poser is someone who is all pins and no substance.**  It will be back very soon in full effect.) 

I normally do the craft/recipe/project the weekend before I post on Tuesday.  But this past weekend was a little different.  Because the world was a little different.

Instead of perfecting attempting to make a craft, I hung out with the family, relaxed, watched Christmas movies, played and just soaked up all the goodness--all the joy and light in my life.

This little light of mine--Wade in the star costume at pageant practice at church this past Sunday. You didn't think I was going to type that I sewed that shiny number did you?  I'm getting craftier for sure, but I'm no where near a shiny star making kind of mama, yet. Yet.

Admittedly, I was online a lot too.  Not only reading news reports, but also connecting with other horrified parents on Facebook and Twitter.  And learning about ways I could help in some small way.  

I was on Pinterest too, finding projects I will make next weekend and reading inspiring quotes about faith, hope and love and light.  

I pinned this image from the amazing Brene Brown's blog Ordinary Courage.  She is also the author of an amazing book called Daring Greatly.  

Here are some links I found that offer ways to help out some of the grieving families in CT:
Newtown Youth and Family Services
Noah's Ark of Hope Fund

And here is an example, on Twitter, of some of the light coming from this dark tragedy (this is really good):
#26ActsofKindess

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Check out some of the other wise words I found Pinterest (here):

For all you Pinterest Posers:

Check out these amazing holiday projects I featured (click here) from guest Pinterest Poser Challenger Amy (follow her here on Pinterest for more ideas).

If you missed last week's Poser Challenge for the Holidays, it was my favorite--a bleached out T-shirt.  Check it out.  You could make this with one of the inspiring quotes you find on Pinterest.

Come on over and follow my Pinterest boards too.

And join me on Twitter @AngelaYBlood.

Reeling

I'm reeling still.
Reeling from the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut.  It's just too much.  Too damn much.
Reeling.  Hurting.  Fearing.  Raging.  Wondering.
Wondering why? how? what the f#*@ is going on in the world?
Hurting for the victims and their families.

But I'm also loving, hoping, praying and holding on tight.
Holding on tight to my own precious babies.  Holding on tight to my belief that love wins.  

Snuggling with my first grader who wanted to stay up a little later than usual and of course I said okay.

This weekend I was like so many moms out there, hugging my kids tighter, forgiving messes and worrying less about schedules.  Instead of stressing about my failure as a parent because Wade is three years old and still coming into our bed at night, I couldn't fall asleep until he did.  

That horse drawn carriage ride through our beautiful Christmas town you kids have been begging us for years to do but we always say a five minute ride for $20 wasn't worth it? Yeah, that one, let's do it kids. 

It was that kind of weekend.

I usually always try to find the funny in any situation, even the dark, uncertain situations.  Like last year, after my mother fell down a flight of stairs and broke her neck.  She woke up in the hospital bed mumbling something, asking for someone.  My sister and I leaned in closer to try and figure out who it was, then the nurse leaned in closer.  "Justin Timberlake, I want Justin Timberlake," she said pretty damn clearly.  We found the fact that she was asking for the former N'Syncher quite hilarious.  

But there is nothing funny about what's happening now.  Not one damn thing.  It's gut wrenching, heart breaking, mind bending.  It's too damn much.

But I'm holding on to the belief that love wins.

This past weekend broke me open.  It will continue to as we see the pictures of the kids, hear their parents' stories and visit victim's Facebook tribute pages.  

My husband and I told our three older kids about what happened.  They each reacted differently and age appropriately. Lucy expressed her feelings with a picture of angels singing. 

"I wish I could mail this to heaven," she told us.

After we told them and we answered their questions, they began playing and had a wonderful weekend.  I don't know what they will hear at school.  I'm sure it will come up again with us.  But for now they have moved on.  Like we all will eventually.

Yes, I'm reeling, but I'm believing love wins.

Here's a great video about love around the world:

Here's something I wrote over the weekend for the Patch about guns and mental illness.  Click here.
http://rochester.patch.com/blog_posts/boots-guns-and-mental-illness

Blue Christmas and What I Know For Sure (This Week)

It's going to be a blue Christmas.  No I'm not talking about all my melancholy, dark and twistiness.  I'm talking about something that makes me very happy.

Our new/old blue piano.

Last winter, my friend Amy (the amazing Pinterest NonPoser pal I told you about) mentioned she had a piano she wanted to give away.  She said she was GIVING it away and didn't know if anyone would wanted it because it was blue.  Um, I want it BECAUSE it is blue.  A blue piano in my green room?  With my loud, joyful family?  Yes! Yes! Yes!!!!!

Months later, we finally coordinated the movers and the piano arrived.  Just in time for Christmas. A blue Christmas.

I envision many family jams around this fabulous piano.  There will be sing-alongs galore. 

This blue piano fills me with joy.  It helps me paint the picture, fulfill the dream of the family/home I always wanted--noisy, happy, joyful, emotional, musical.

The piano is the best Christmas gift ever, that I know for sure.

Here's what else I know for sure (this week):

• Animal hats are adorable.  I used to be against the animal hat craze until Wade got one.  His awesome godmother got him one for an early Christmas gift and I am obsessed with the cuteness.

• Joy feels damn good.  I am a sensitive soul with low lows and high highs.  Possibly a bit borderline bipolar which is probably not so great.  But what I love about being borderline is that the joy is really f-ing joyful.  Here's a couple of my favorite joyful songs right now:

Adorable video. Love. It will make you smile, I promise.

• I'm a little behind on my chalk board/calendar.  I got stuck the week before Halloween. Uh-oh.

• I can't wait for these ladies to host the Golden Globes. Girl Power!

• Here's my favorite Christmas commercial this year.  With three boys who love baseball, I can relate.

• Our elf on the shelf, Keith Babu, is a hit.  Even though my husband and I are kind of half-ass elfers, the kids seem to eat it all up.  Early in the morning or right before bed, JT can be found having a talk with Keith.  Not sure if he is explaining himself and the things he might have done wrong or simply just saying hi.

• I HATE germs and viruses can suck it.  I have had a sick child home with me for 9 out of the last 10 school days. Yup.  We're all going a little crazy.

• Christmas is magical.  JT not only talks to our elf, Keith, he also talks to the Wise Men in our nativity set up.  It's pretty cute.

A quick chat before school.

• Winning a Wii U would quite possibly make you a very popular mom/dad/grandma/aunt/uncle/girlfriend---oh hell person, you'd be a popular person.  Click here to find out how to enter yet another amazingly rad giveaway.

• The reason for the season is baby Jason?  Yeah, that's what Wade said as we walked by a nativity set up on our way to the store yesterday.  "Happy Birthday baby Jason."  He also called the camel a cow.  He's the fourth child, whatever.

What do you know for sure (this week)? C'mon, we're friends, share what you know.  Leave a comment here or on the Facebook page.

If you'd like to subscribe to my blog and get each post emailed to you,click here.

  Come play with me on Instagram @jumpingwithmyfingerscrossed.

Oh yeah, and come follow me on Twitter @AngelaYBlood and check out my YouTube channel here.

I'm linking up today with my friend Greta from  Gfunkified.com and her pal Mamamash.com for the #iPPP link up.

In Defense of Imperfect Family Pictures

Even though everyone says they don't, they do it.  They try to look perfect in pictures. Right now you know all those everyones are gathering their families together and posing their kids in front of the Christmas tree for the perfect picture.  THE Christmas card picture that will show the world how cute, fantastic and beautiful and amazing their family is.   

And while I'm sure those families are indeed cute, fantastic, beautiful and amazing, I am also sure they are not perfect.  Not perfect is what my family does really well.  Even though I know this and embrace this, I still try for that perfect shot.

And I fail miserably.  But every year, our family picture tells a story.  A real story.  A story that is messy, loud, full of wrestling and bickering and laughing.  A story of a family that is cute, fantastic, beautiful, amazing and totally, completely not perfect.

It was bold to think that my husband and I could get in the picture and it would work out well.  Bold and wrong.

This shot is a bit over Instagrammed and filtered, but it tells the story of a distracted tween and fidgety toddler

This shot is as close to "perfect" as we might get.  It tells the story of mismatched PJ's and socks.  Wade having to be restrained by big brother Peyton.  Lucy working her smile and JT seconds away from doing a crazy dance. 

But here's the rest of the story from that night:

These pictures make me smile and make me love my kids more.  I'm so glad I got all these so far from perfect pictures.  Sure, I might like the shots better if they were all in matching PJ's, but someday down the road I might remember that I was waaaay too tired to coordinate that.  It's all a part of the our story.

I hope more people send out the real pictures of their families.  Not only will I feel better about my unruly brood, I will also feel like I'm getting to truly know their stories.

Here's a great article from Babble on how to take better (not perfect, but better) pictures, click here .

It's not just pictures that we do imperfectly.  Check out this short video on how we decorate for Christmas.

      ***********************************************

This is so yesterday, but I was one of those nerds that thought recognizing 12/12/12 was fun. After school, I had the kids write down 12 things that make them happy.

It was a fun after school project that didn't take long. Barbies still make Lucy happy, which makes me happy.  Peyton included YouTube on his list which is funny.  JT wrote down Keith Baboo, our makeshift elf on the shelf, which I love.  Then it was my turn.  It was fun.  Rarely do I think about what I like.  Do you?  Try it.  List 12 things right now, do it, have fun.

Here's 12 things that make me happy:
1. My kiddos (I really kind of had to write that becuase they were sitting right next to me.)
2. Dancing
3. Twitter
4. Family (most of them anyway)
5. Avocados
6. Taking Pictures
7. Madonna
8. Friday Nights
9. Monday Mornings (weird but true, I love getting back to a routine)
10. Chipotle
11. Going to the Movies
12. Running

Quarantined

I have been stuck in the house for almost three full days now. (After last week with two other sick kids home and a bout of the stomach flu for me.)  

Quarantined with a sick child with spots all over his face.  You see, apparently Hand, Foot and Mouth disease can be more like Arm, Leg and Face disease.   Whatever you want to call it, Wade's got it and it ain't pretty.

After four children and 11 years of parenting, I dare say I am almost a veteran.  At least a toddler veteran.  I've been around the toddler block.  Sippy cups, potty training, toddler beds/big boy beds, pacifier addiction...you name it, I've been there.  Not to say I have any great advice, but I've been there.  And honestly, I'm not too shocked or surprised by anything.  Until this whole Hand, Foot, Mouth business.  

This virus which possibly has the worst name ever for a virus has never infected our household before. Doesn't it have the worst name?  I mean it sounds scary and medieval.  When really it's a fever and then spots.  Spots that don't itch, but just look really gross and kind of medieval.

So now, we sit and we wait.  

And Wade takes out every toy he sees in the house and throws it around the room for fun.

When he's bored throwing his toys, he actually sits quietly and plays with the utensils.  Because that's normal right?

And then Wade wrecks every LEGO set up his big brothers and sister made and thought they had hidden from him.

And then we wait some more.

We wait for the spots to go away.  We wait to go back to our normal lives.

Trying to be like a normal, nonspotty family, we sat down for a family dinner last night. We asked the kids about their day at school.  JT told us he had a test the next day.  We asked him what the test was going to be on and he said he couldn't remember.
"I am great at forgetting what people tell me," he declared.  He wasn't sad, he was more matter of fact.  He wasn't "man, I suck because I can't remember."  Of course I want him to know he's great at a lot of things in life, other than just forgetting, I also kind of love his attitude.

JT inspired me to rethink this whole quarantine.  Maybe it's all in the attitude.  Maybe it's all that glass half-full type of thinking that usually makes me want to roll my eyes.  Maybe it's not such a bad coping mechanism.

So instead of being stuck, I surrender.  I surrender to turning that frown upside down.  And you know what?  Just like JT's attitude, it's kind of great.

Instead of being stuck, I'm lucky that I get to spend the day with my little guy....  
Okay, no it still sucks.  But I tried.  I did.

I'm glad that kind of shit helps JT and it is very cute.  But it doesn't work for me.  I want the spots gone and I want to leave the house. 

He really is cute and I really am lucky to stay home with him.  I know it okay?  Here the cutie is using the untensil to "cut" his car, awww how sweet.

My first stop when I go out is to buy hand sanitizer and get a flu shot. 

Pinterest Poser Challenge Holiday Style-Bleached T-shirts & Susanna Hoffs

It's time again for the Pinterest Poser Challenge.  In an attempt at not being a Pinterest Poser,* every week I  detail a new Pinterest challenge whether it be a new recipe or a craft.   
**My definition of a Pinterest Poser is someone who is all pins and no substance.** 

This is the third installment of Pinterest Poser For the Holidays.  Or otherwise known as, four weeks of gift reveals for some of my favorite relatives.  Luckily, most of my relatives don't read this blog so they won't see the potentially crappy homemade gifts they will be getting.

Except this week, there's nothing crappy about the homemade gift. And in a weird way it involves Susanna Hoffs, you know, the lead singer from The Bangles.

The gift idea this week is: Homemade Personalized T-shirts.  And I am IN LOVE with how easy it was and how much fun it was.  Not only would these shirts make a great gift for, well, anyone, they would also be a fun craft project to make with older kids.

The idea was pinned from the amazing Designmom.com.  I love everything about her site, click here to check it out.

Supplies: 
T-shirt on sales for $3.99 at Michael's.  
Duck Paper (a totally rad product I didn't know existed) $1.99 a sheet at Michael's.
Bleach $1.29 from the grocery store.
Scissors, pen and blank paper.

Designmom.com used one of those fancy Silhouette machines to make her letters and designs.  I used a piece of blank paper out of my printer and a red pen.  I wrote down the phrase and cut it out. I then traced it onto the Duck paper and cut that out too.  I placed the letters where I wanted them on the shirt.

Then put a towel inside the shirt as a blocker and then started dabbing the shirt with straight bleach.

***Be careful not to use too much bleach, because it will bleed through the tape.***

I threw the shirt in the dryer for a bit and then peeled off the tape.  BAM! Totally cute shirt for my girl Lu. Merry Christmas!

So what the hell does Susanna Hoffs have to do with all this?  Did anyone out there see her big screen debut in a classic  movie called The Allnighter?  Circa 1987?  

Well, if you didn't you missed a great movie.  It was my favorite movie in my tween years.  I watched it all. the. time.  

Click here to watch the trailer.
It's so 80s.

Susanna Hoffs? Eh, she was okay.  But there was a deeper message that I took away from that movie that still rings true over 20 years later.  You see there were two surfer dude friends in the movie that were taking different paths after college.  One surfer dude (Killer) tells the other surfer dude (CJ) "You be you."

Brilliant. And while the movie poster lacks a worthy message for my daughter, the surfer dudes' quote is perfect for her.

Have a favorite movie from the 80s that you want to quote on a T-shirt? I highly recommend this project.  Make a shirt for an old friend with an inside joke only the two of you get.  Make a shirt for your son who loves Mickey Mouse--that's my next project to make one with Mickey Mouse ears for my son Wade who is obsessed.

Even my husband was getting in on this project.  He started drawing ideas.  Now I have to go get more T-shirts.

Check out last week's amazing projects (click here) from guest Pinterest Poser Challenger Amy (follow her here on Pinterest for more ideas).

Or click here.  to see week one's gift idea.  It involved writing on plates and cups and should only be done by people with pretty good handwriting.

Are you planning on making any gifts for people this holiday season?  

Do tell. 

Share your project ideas or gifts that you've 

made before in the comments.

Check out some of the other Pinterest Poser Challenge projects I've made in the last month:

Furniture Painting and Bench/Chest Makeover- click here

Thanksgiving-y Project/Gratitude/Holiday Countdown- click here
The Smoothie-click here

The Free Printable Turned Artwork in a Boring Hallway- click here

The chalk board-click here
Seven Layer Dip in Individual Cups (my favorite so far!)-click here
The pumpkin address-click here
The Kitchen Dancing Sign--click here

Please share what you're working on in the comments here or over on Facebook.

Oh yeah, and come on over and follow my Pinterest boards too.

And just because, here's one of my favorite Bangles songs, their cover of Hazy Shade of Winter from another 1980s classic movie Less Than Zero.